Sew Organised with Laura from Thread Pegs

In this inspiring episode of The Sewing Social Podcast, we sit down with maker and entrepreneur Laura Ter Kuile from Thread Pegs, whose journey from passionate sewist to successful small business owner is full of creativity, resilience, and community spirit.

Laura shares how a love for sewing turned into a thriving business specialising in handmade sewing storage solutions and custom tools — including her beautifully crafted wooden spool holders. She opens up about the challenges and breakthroughs of building a product-based brand, the joy of connecting with other makers, and how mending workshops became a meaningful part of her mission.

We also dive into her recent experience at the Stitch Festival, where she connected with fellow creatives and showcased her unique products. Whether you’re a hobbyist dreaming of launching a business or an established maker looking for fresh inspiration, Laura’s story offers practical insights, heartfelt encouragement, and a reminder that community is everything.

Key Takeaways:

• Laura Ter Kuile has been in the sewing business for about 10 years.
• She creates sewing storage solutions and tools from wood in her workshop.
• Her sewing journey began while working in a fabric shop.
• Laura emphasises the importance of community and customer feedback.
• She runs mending workshops to teach others basic repair skills.
• Laura's experience at the Stitch Festival was both challenging and rewarding.
• She believes in the value of taking risks in business.
• Laura encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to get their products out into the world.
• She highlights the importance of having a dedicated workspace for creativity.
• Laura's passion for sewing is evident in her commitment to quality and craftsmanship.

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Guest details:

Website: https://threadpegs.com

Instagram: @threadpegs

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Laura and her business Thread Pegs 
05:15 The Evolution of Laura's Sewing Business
09:00 Tools of the Trade: Crafting with Confidence
13:01 The Art of Repair: Reviving Clothing
17:21 Community Engagement: Mending Together
20:43 Exhibiting at the Stitch Festival: A New Experience
24:08 Advice for Aspiring Craft Entrepreneurs
25:35 Fun and Games: Quickfire This or That

Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:11.372)

Laura, welcome to the Sewing Social Podcast. I wondered if you could introduce yourself to the listeners.

Hiya, hello. So I am Laura and I have been running my business for about 10 years, I'd say. And my business is primarily sewing storage. So it's storage for everybody's growing collection of cotton reels and overlocker threads and the bobbin storage as well, which is very popular. I've also started making kind of sewing tools. So I make all my products myself from wood.

in my workshop in Cornwall.

Amazing. And I wanted to sort of take it right back because as well as making these beautiful like wooden storage pieces and sewing tools, you also sew your own clothes, don't you?

Yeah, so it started actually as well sewing was just a hobby. I was working in a fabric shop in Bristol and didn't sew that much to be honest at that time. But as soon as I started working there, I kind of saw everyone's beautiful creations that was coming in and it kind of got me really inspired to start sewing more myself. So I got really into it. I still had a sewing machine that my mum had bought me.

Speaker 2 (01:28.182)

I it was my 18th birthday or possibly 16th birthday, but I still had that. So I traveled around various places with that sewing machine and I was able to kind of create a little sewing corner in my very small flat. I realized quite quickly that I needed to use as much wall storage as possible. So I'd seen a few other people who had made some really lovely pegboards for their tools and their cotton reels. So was like, I'll make myself one of these. So I just got some wood.

from a wood recycling centre that was nearby me and created the first pegboard that I made and quite quickly friends from the sewing shop that I was working in wanted one so I started making them more and then yeah it kind of just escalated. I put them online and they sold well. Yeah so that's how it all kind of came about.

It sounds like it became a business quite quickly after you started sewing, is that right?

did. I mean, there was a lot of things that I did alongside it. So it was always a bit of a kind of side hustle that I would sell these boards alongside my main job working in the sewing shop. Then I also had two children. So it was always kind of like a little side business that I had. But now I'm kind of really focusing on it more. And yeah, I can see the real difference in it as well. So there's a lot more, I'm getting a lot more customers finding me online and I'm doing a lot more cut reach by going to

different sewing fairs. And that's a really lovely way to kind of hear what customers or potential customers think of the product as well. I get a lot of nice comments about the products that I make.

Speaker 1 (03:05.826)

Just sort of thinking about your sewing journey, do you have any particular patterns or fabrics that you love to work with?

I've always, ever since kind of Merchant and Mills crossed my path, I think I've always been a big fan of theirs. I have made quite a lot of their patterns and I do love visiting their shops. I do buy their fabrics sometimes online as well, but I do prefer buying them in store. I like that they've kind of done the wholesale fabric side of their business as well. So smaller sewing shops are buying in their fabrics, which is great because it means it kind of reaches more people and you can see them.

fabrics in real life rather than just online. So I do like buying their products. I'd say I think that's probably the ones that I make the most and I've made them like multiple times. Because once you have a good pattern, you just have to stick with it, don't you?

Absolutely. I'm jealous because I would love to go to Merchant and Mills.

Yeah, I'm quite lucky that my parents live about probably about an hour and a half away to be honest, but I do sometimes make the trip without my kids to get a nice day out on my own. Yeah, no distractions allowed.

Speaker 1 (04:14.816)

Yeah. You made a beautiful blouse recently. Is it by frocks studio?

Yeah, that was quite a challenge actually. I think she's quite a new pattern designer out there. mean, she's probably done a lot of patterns already or similar work, but I think it's the first one that she's really released as a home sewer pattern. And it's beautiful. It's got loads of pleats on the front. She's got a dress version or a blouse version. So I thought I'd start off with the blouse, but it did take me a good two weeks to do. So many pleats.

had to be done. But it was a really nice project. I do enjoy that kind of slightly more technical pattern where I really need to concentrate and cleats is something that I hadn't done before in my like 15 years of sewing. So it was a really good challenge.

Yeah, and you made it from a bed sheet, is that right?

Yeah, that's right. Yeah, I've got a charity shop opposite my house, which is brilliant because I can always have a little rummage to see if I can find something either for like a twirl or for something that is actually wearable. So it's quite a luxury to have. So I think I picked that bedsheet up for £2 and then yeah, because it did require a lot of fabric for the pleats. So I thought it was cost saving measure.

Speaker 1 (05:29.902)

Absolutely. So you've sort of told us a little bit about how the business came about. So are you full time with it now?

I am, yes, kind of split my week up because I do also do sewing repairs, clothing repairs and darning work for people locally to me and also people that do send their items in the post to me. So that's kind of, I try and do that on a Thursday and Friday and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I work on my business. But it is surprising how much laptop-based work I have to do as well. So I'm not always in the workshop, which is a shame because I would love to be. But the side of the business that takes up most of the time is the kind of

administration part and working on my website and things like that. So it does take up a lot of time.

I was curious about what particular tools that you use to make your products and how did you learn to use them?

Yeah, that's a really good question. I get asked that a lot. Like how have you learned to use all these power tools and kind of big machinery? And I think it's quite, I think I was always quite curious about how people made stuff. So I was always, I had this like obsession of trying to make my own version of things or something like that. So it's quite, I was always quite into that. And at school we did get a lot of kind of woodwork lessons, which was really good. So they would let us use machinery that I don't think they would allow these days.

Speaker 2 (06:55.414)

like health and safety, kids, machines. I don't know how they let us do that, but they did. So I think that was quite a confidence thing. Like once you kind of know how a machine works, then it's a good starting point. And then I did also do a degree. It was called Contemporary Crafts, which is unfortunately not running anymore because I think it was quite an expensive course to put on. But through that, again, I learned how to use machines safely and kind of, you know, what you need to use them for.

I do feel quite confident around big machines, but the most important one that I use is a big old pillar drill, which kind of creates all the holes in the pegboards. So that's the one that's like the most repetitive, most used machine. And then I also use a big circular saw, which is, it does scare me sometimes when I'm kind of using that because I'm like on my own in my workshop and I think, if something went wrong? Would anyone find me? I try not to think about it.

The Dark Thor.

Yeah. And the worst is it's like this very little kind of phone reception on the farm that I work in. it's, I'm always like, God, can I call someone if something goes wrong? Yeah. So far, nothing has gone wrong yet. Yeah.

That's good. That's good. So do you like buy sheets of wood and then cut them down to the sizes that you need?

Speaker 2 (08:17.678)

Yeah, so I buy them and for me it's the most economical to buy really big sheets in. So it's all kind of really beautiful birch ply that's all FSC certified and I buy that in and then I usually I just do it in batches. So I'll like cut down one certain size and then like, yeah, I'll do like 20 of one size, 20 of the other and various different sizes, cut them all down and then I have to drill all the holes, then lots of sanding. So I try and like...

make my process as quick as possible for myself. Otherwise, if I was doing each one individually, would, yeah, that is what I was doing in the beginning. I was kind of making it on demand when I would get orders in, but now it's just not fee-sporting or so. Yeah, it's a good problem to have.

Yeah, definitely. You know, as things go on, you always develop your own processes, don't you? So it sounds like that's what you've done.

Yeah, and it was very nice actually, like moving into a workshop that I could kind of create my own little flow around the workshops before I was working in a shared space. I couldn't just leave my work lying around. I had to always tidy everything up. it's a nice luxury to have my own space.

And how long have you been in that space for?

Speaker 2 (09:32.224)

It's been two years now, so it's not a huge amount of time. We moved from Bristol down to Cornwall two and a half years ago. Yeah, my partner's from here, so that was the reason we kind of came back. And yeah, I was really lucky to find this spot on this old farm. So there's quite a other creatives that have a little unit in the old barns. So yeah, I felt very fortunate to have a little in into this creative community.

sounds lovely and it sounds like there would be somebody around if anything bad happened.

Yeah, I think so. think somebody would hear me if I shouted.

Do you have a favourite product that you make?

I really like my, the like the little small bobbin board that you can kind of just put on your tabletop next to your sewing machine just to keep your bobbins in place. Because I don't know about you, but I have these, as soon as a bobbin like jumps out of my hand, it just like rolls all the way to the kitchen or something like that. And it just gets so annoying. But I don't know, they're just very fiddly and yeah, bountiful. They just go everywhere. So I, I do really like

Speaker 2 (10:37.962)

my bobbin little board and I have it above, it's actually, I can see it on the shelf, but it's, yeah, it's just above my sewing machine and it has all my colours on there that I use the most. Because I do so many repairs, I do loads of denim repairs, so I have a load of different kind of like denim coloured threads ready to go.

And how did you get into the repair side of your work? Was there somebody that taught you to do that?

It was actually in Bristol, I started working for a company that did mostly outdoor active wear repair in store, which I know that other shops are now also taking on this model, anyone could come in. It wasn't only their own clothes that they'd sold, it was open to anyone. And I'd never thought about these skills that I had, like sewing skills, as a viable kind of job. It just never crossed my mind. So when I saw this advert that they were looking for,

somebody that could put some zips back into coats and stuff like that. was like, surely I can do that. So I approached them and they were like, yeah, come in for a trial. they offered me the job, which was great. But then that kind of showed me like people do firstly, like they will want their clothes repaired and are happy to pay 40 pounds to get a zip replaced. Like I just thought like surely they'll just ask someone like their family or a mum to do it or something like that, but they don't. Well, the mums might not have that skill or the dads, you know.

It kind of like opened my eyes that there are people out there willing to pay for a skill that we as sowers have. So when I moved down to Cornwall, I thought I'll be using that skill and I live in quite a prominent position in the town that I live in. So there's a lot of people passing. So I just put a sign outside my house and it brought in so many people. think within the first day I'd already had like five people knock on the door and stuff like that. So I was like, God, this is,

Speaker 2 (12:27.342)

crazy. I wasn't quite expecting that. I thought maybe like one a week would be enough. But yeah, it really went a bit more than I thought. But it is really encouraging that people are willing to like fix their favourite jeans or get their sweaters done. like, yeah, it's really, it's a nice thing to do for people.

is and it sort of gives you that bit of hope doesn't it that people do care because we live in such a fast-paced and fast-fashioned world that you think people don't care and then you hear these stories and it reignites your hope again.

Exactly. it's, I mean, there's, it's, kind of also is quite sad that there's people that are lacking those skills. Like we're not taught at school anymore. You might get taught to of like sew a button on maybe at primary school, but that's, it's just such a shame that those skills are dying. And it's only those people that really like really want to learn will, will be able to kind of fix their own clothes or, but I do also run a, I think I started about a year and a half ago now, like a

Just a very casual evening drop-in. So I rent a space within a really nice local wool shop and yarn shop. And it's just like an evening where you can bring your own clothes to get repaired by yourself. It's not me doing it, but everyone just gets on and does their thing and complete beginners turn up. And I showed them like the really basic darning skills they might need to repair a jumper or hand sewing. it's, yeah, it's a really lovely way to connect with.

the people, get to know people and get through that pile of like things you just don't wear anymore because there's something wrong with it. So that's been really lovely.

Speaker 1 (14:07.852)

Yeah, and that's called your meat-making mend, isn't it?

Yeah, that's right. I got the name from the Bristol textile quarter, which also run a similar, they call it the same thing. So I kind of got the idea from, from Staffron who runs the Bristol textile quarter and I attended one or two of hers and I just really loved the idea of it. So I was like, I'm going to set that up when I moved to Falmouth. Cause it was also a really nice way for me to meet similar people interested in textiles, stitching, and I've made some really great friends from it. So.

Loads of positives. And I'm sure that people go away from that group, like really happy that they can now repair their own clothes.

Yeah, definitely. Like I keep getting little pictures from people like, I've done another repair like at home on their own. And that's just so nice. Like when they're, when they're confident enough to do it at home. And there's also been some really lovely like friendship, not only my own friendships, but like from other people who are like, I met up with so and so again. So they met once at one of the meetups. So it's just been a really nice, a nice thing to do for myself, but also for like, yeah, letting other people meet each other and, and learning new skills.

Yeah and just so in case people in the sort of local area are interested is it at Stitches and Cream?

Speaker 2 (15:29.452)

Yeah, correct. it's stitches and cream and the last Thursday of the month. However, the next two I'm not around because of the summer holidays and we've just, yeah, the holidays just get in the way a little bit and we're away. But from September, the last Thursday of the month.

Brilliant. And I was wondering if there is like a really memorable mending project that you've worked on previously. Can you think of anything?

Actually, I'm going to say the first, it's going to be my own, like one of my own really beautiful jumpers that I inherited from my grandmother. She designed knitwear. didn't, she didn't do the knitting herself. She got other people to knit them, but she was a knitwear designer. can't remember if the jumper was, maybe she'd already passed it on to my mum who then passed it on to me, but somewhere this jumper came to me and I was wearing it in my workshop loads because it's kind of.

it was really cold and this jumper was really like robust and warm, but the sleeves had like completely gone. So it was really worn through. And that was, I was like, right, I think I need to repair this. And this was the first darning experience I had. So I went to my local in Bristol at the time, my local wool shop and she, the lady there gave me loads of good tips. And she, she did look at me like, you going to really do? I was like, yeah, it's going to be easy. It's going to be fine. And I like, oh yeah, I just set out.

This is your first one?

Speaker 2 (16:51.468)

I started and it just, it did take forever, but I'm so glad I did it because it just turned out really like even better than I thought. So that was, that's probably my most memorable one because it was like the first one that I did, probably the hardest one I've done as well.

Yeah, that sounds epic.

I could share a picture of it and they'd be like, yeah, it was good.

you touched on earlier about you sort of putting yourself out there a bit more into the community and you exhibited at the Stitch Festival didn't you for the first time? Is it March?

Yeah, it was March, yeah.

Speaker 1 (17:25.016)

Can you tell us a bit about that experience? And also you did like the cutest little mini studio mock-up, didn't you? That was super popular.

Yeah, was quite, so the Stitch Festival had been in my mind for so long and I was like, one year I'm going to do it. And I don't know what it was, but something just spurred me on to just commit to it. And it is quite a lot of money to exhibit at one of those fairs, but it was so worth it because the people that you meet, the customers, the feedback, it's really worth it. So it was a risk, but I'm really glad I did it. And it was a lot of preparation and it's really hard knowing.

much stock to bring and what to exhibit. It was quite a scary first day, but once I was there, I was loving it. It was so nice, meeting all these like-minded sewists and creatives and also the business owners, the other ladies and men that were standing there exhibiting. was just a really nice, welcoming group of people. That was brilliant. The mini sewing mock-up room, it came about because I was like, how do I

How can I show people what the pegboards will look like in a sewing room? Because it's quite hard when you're, you you can't bring a whole, I could have maybe made a whole like mock-up sewing room, but I was like, I don't want to do that. I'm not going to bring my sewing machine all the way to London for that. So I thought, why don't I just like make a little mini version? And I'm so glad I did because it was so popular. Everyone was loving it and it was all kind of handmade. And yeah, I've got plans of making some more because there was so, everyone was loving them. And the...

I know, I think it was a really good way of showing what my products brought to a space. So it's kind of like that organization that helps people starting a project. Everyone always says, it's just so nice having things on the wall because you can see what color you need. And knowing that you have that cotton reel, that certain color for a project, just makes starting something really easy compared to rummaging through different boxes, trying to find untangled threads.

Speaker 2 (19:30.946)

finding the right colour.

That's a really interesting side to it. I hadn't thought of it sort of from the initiation point of view of starting a project. that's really cool.

Yeah, it was really lovely. There was one lady that came up to me actually at Stitch and she had already bought one of my boards and she just came up to me, she said, your boards has changed my life. And I was like, how? How has it changed your life? She was like, it just makes me enjoy sewing again. And like, it was just so sweet to hear. So she'd obviously, she said she'd like inherited all her mother's cotton reels and was just like, she just had them in a box somewhere and she had quite a lot I think. So she was really struggling to

find what to do with them and now she has them beautifully on display. She might not use them ever or she might not use them all, but just having them on display has, she thought, had changed her life, which was really lovely to hear.

is so nice. It must feel really heartwarming.

Speaker 2 (20:25.954)

Yeah, that was really great. Yeah.

was just wondering, you know, for those people interested in like turning their craft into a business, do you have a piece of advice that you would give based on your experience?

I think give it time. it has always with me, it's always kind of been ticking in the background, ticking along quite nicely. And I wish I could have given it more time, you know, 10 years ago when I, if I had all the money in the world to throw at it and push it more, but it just, it just wasn't going to happen. So I think if you can just like keep things brewing and then when you do have the opportunity, then go for it and definitely go and meet or like.

bring your product out into the world rather than just wait for people to find you online. Because I think that you can be there forever waiting. think these certain fairs and markets that I've been doing have really helped me as well, focus on what I should be making and like what sells and what people think. So that's also definitely a good tip, I think, kind of get your wares outside and hear what people think about them.

Yeah. And be brave. So just to sort of round off the interview, Laura, I'd to play a quick game of this or that, if that's okay with you. Sure. Yeah. Right. Let's go for it. A meal out or a takeaway? Out that studio.

Speaker 2 (21:38.69)

Brave, yeah.

Speaker 2 (21:51.768)

Definitely meal out. Yeah, exactly. Put some nice clothes on rather than like my terrible workshop.

When it comes to fabrics, are you a print girl or are you a solids girl? Tea or coffee? Coffee. An organised stash or creative chaos?

solid, stiff at me.

Speaker 2 (22:10.862)

I'm going to have to go with organized dash, but sometimes the creative chaos is also there.

I think it's the same in all of us. Scissors or a rotary cutter? A tried and tested pattern or something new? One project on the go or multiple?

rotary cutter.

Speaker 2 (22:27.598)

tried and tested.

No, definitely one. Focus. Yeah, focus. Exactly.

Spring, summer or autumn, winter. Wovens or knit. And the last one, podcasts or YouTube.

Spring Summer.

WOSEN

Speaker 2 (22:44.75)

I like podcasts definitely more. You can kind of listen to them when you're sewing. I can't, I cannot be one of these people who can watch stuff and sew, not me.

I try but I don't get much sewing done.

No and you end up just listening and it's like I don't know what yeah yeah no podcast all the way.

Fantastic. So where can people find you, Laura?

So my website is threadpegs.com and I have all my products online there. And my Instagram is also at threadpegs. So if you are on Instagram, give me a follow.

Speaker 1 (23:18.51)

Thank you so much for joining me on the Sewing Social podcast today, it's been great. You take care! Bye! That's it for today's episode of the Sewing Social podcast. Thanks so much for listening. If you're enjoying the show and want to support what we're doing, you can now leave us a tip over on Ko-fi. It's like buying us a virtual coffee or a spool of thread.

Thank you Gemma, it's been lovely. Cheers, bye!

Speaker 1 (23:44.514)

and it helps us keep bringing you inspiring stories from the sewing community. You'll find the link in the show notes or at kofi.com forward slash the sewing social pod. Until next time, happy sewing.